Discovering Rain
by EsmeAmelia
Summary: Han observes Luke when he sees rain for the first time.


AN: You all know I don't own Star Wars. This was written as a gift for my friend RainingStarWars, who loves Han and Luke's friendship and it takes place shortly after ANH.

"Discovering Rain"

By EsmeAmelia

"Han! Han! Come look!"

Han looked up from where he'd been working on the Falcon to see Luke running up to him like an excited young boy. "Han, come look!" the kid repeated.

"Okay, okay," said Han, wiping the grease off his hands with a rag. "What's goin' on?"

Luke was grinning at him as if he were having to restrain himself from spoiling some big surprise. "Come on, follow me!"

Han shrugged, still unsure just what was going on, but he dutifully followed Luke through the maze of ships parked in the hangar of the Rebel base they had set up just days before. Damn, the kid was fast when he was excited. "Hey kid, wait up!"

Han was panting by the time they reached the hangar's open hatch. "Okay, okay, what'd you want to show me?"

Luke gestured out into the wilderness, where a heavy rainfall was pouring over the assortment of plant life. "Look, it's _rain!_ Actual _rain!"_

"Uh . . . yeah," said Han. "It's rainin'."

Luke was staring out at the rain as if mesmerized. "I've never seen rain before."

Oh, right. The kid grew up on Tatooine, though Han didn't know how he was able to stand it. "Well . . . I guess rain seems special if you've never seen it before, but personally I've never liked rain that much."

"Why not?" asked Luke, sticking his hand out and letting the rain drip on it.

Han shrugged. "It's gloomy."

"Gloomy?" exclaimed Luke. "How can anything that gives life be gloomy?" His fingers wiggled around as if trying to savor every drop. "Look at all the plants out there, Han. All that life is possible because of rain."

"Yeah kid, I know, I _did_ pass first grade, believe it or not."

Now Luke was giggling like a child. "It's so cool and refreshing, I didn't know it would feel like this. It's nothing like the ground water from Tatooine."

"I bet not," Han awkwardly chimed in, trying to imagine what it would be like to see rain for the first time. As a kid on Kashyyyk he'd been scared to death of thunderstorms and thought the heavy rain pattering on the roof sounded like some monster stomping on the roof trying to get in. Even as he got older, he always associated rain with negative stuff. It always seemed to rain when he had to haul particularly heavy loads of not-quite-legal goods to and from the Falcon or when one of his many enemies decided to give him an outdoor interrogation. It was always that cold, uncomfortable kind of rain too – the kind that sloshed around in your boots and soaked through your socks and then gave you a cold the next day.

It probably wouldn't be long before the novelty wore off for Luke and he'd learn to hate rain too.

And now the kid was actually stepping out into the rain, one foot at a time, as if testing the waters so to speak, but it was only a few steps before he ran out, laughing as he spread his arms out in the shower. "Han, come on! Come join me!"

"Thanks kid, but I think I'll pass."

"Oh come _on!"_ Luke's hair was already soaked and its color was darkening as it hung in limp strands around his head. "It's just rain – what's there to be afraid of?"

"Some of us just wanna stay dry, kid."

"I've been dry my whole life," said Luke, slowly turning around as he threw his head back and let it rain on his face. "Come on, this is amazing."

"Won't be so amazing when you're freezing your ass off, kid," chided Han, though he realized that Luke had probably never experienced true cold before either. Damn, what would he be like when he saw _snow_ for the first time?

"I'm not cold," said Luke, now facing Han again and extending his hand in his direction, a wide grin on his face. "Come on!"

Han didn't know what it was – maybe the kid's twinkling eyes, his boyish grin, or his enthusiastic attitude – but something was compelling him to step out into the rain.

And immediately he started sputtering.

The icy water poured down on his head and trickled down under his shirt, already bringing unwelcome shivers to his body. "Kid, why'd I let you talk me into this?"

Luke only laughed harder as he took his friend's hand. "Just get used to it, Han."

Though he wanted to just run back inside and dry off, Han let the kid lead him further away from the base. "You owe me one for this," he grumbled.

Luke just kept laughing and led Han on with no apparent destination while the rain kept drenching them. Within moments Han was daydreaming about a warm bath and hoping the new base had plenty of hot water.

Finally Luke stopped, breathing in small puffs as he gazed up into the deep green trees, the rain trickling down the leaves. "Look," he said, pointing at a cluster of leaves where the water was trickling from one leaf to the next. "It's like the water's in a hurry to get somewhere so it jumps down the leaves."

"Huh," said Han. "Guess I never thought of it like that before."

"And look up there," said Luke, pointing up towards another tree.

Han obeyed and saw that just over their heads was a tiny red bird hopping from branch to branch, chirping over and over, occasionally opening its beak and drinking a few raindrops. He had to admit, that was pretty cute.

"So much _life,_ " Luke murmured.

Han shrugged. "Well, I still don't like rain much, but yeah, it helps life and all that stuff."

"I bet you'd like rain better if _you_ grew up on Tatooine," Luke said matter-of-factly.

"Probably," Han responded. "Can't say I'm too fond of Tatooine either."

The two friends stood there in the rain for quite a while after that and Han couldn't help grinning at the kid's enthusiasm.

The next day, they both had colds, but they concluded that it was worth it.

THE END


End file.
